UPDATE - Hezbollah chief supports Lebanon gov’t amid protests

ADDS MORE DETAILS

By Waseem Seifedden

BEIRUT (AA) – Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said Saturday his group was not demanding the resignation of the Lebanese government amid mass protests against plans to impose new taxes.

“The problem is not with the government, but with the agenda,” Nasrallah said in his first comments on the protests.

Tens of thousands took to the streets in Lebanon on Friday to protest government plans to impose fees on calls over Whatsapp and similar applications.

Nasrallah said the demonstrations showed that the Lebanese people, particularly the poor, can’t bear the brunt of new taxes.

“If the current government, or any other government, takes practical steps by ending wastage and corruption and merging institutions, it will save a lot and the crisis will end,” he said.

The Hezbollah leader went on to call for adopting a “plan in which the rich, poor, leaders and banks would sacrifice to end the crisis”.

Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri has blamed his partners in government for obstructing economic reforms that could resolve the crisis and gave them a 72-hour deadline to stop blocking him, otherwise hinting he may resign.

Meanwhile, Nasrallah denied that his group was planning protests against banks in Lebanon.

“If Hezbollah takes to the streets the situation…will turn into a political conflict in the country,” he said, without giving further details.

Lebanon has one of the world's highest debt burdens at $86.2 billion in the first quarter of this year. This accompanied by high youth unemployment that has brought people on the edge.